It’s no secret that Napa Valley ranks among our favorite wine regions, and it certainly tops the list for many of our readers as well. As much as we are always excited to hear how the harvest is going or to be among the first to taste a new vintage from established players, we’re also intrigued when completely new wineries enter the scene. Although there are already more than 1,000 wine brands coming out of Napa Valley, there is always room for newcomers to fill our cellars and delight our palates. Among the new arrivals we’ve tried this year, the ones that top our list right now are Annulus, Arborum Napa Valley, and Palisades Canyon, three brand new and completely different wineries that share a common thread in that each has brought in top winemaking talent.
Annulus is debuting with three wines, two single-vineyard bottlings and a Napa Valley cuvée crafted by the powerhouse team of well-known Napa winemaker Nigel Kinsman and consulting enologist Michel Rolland. While Rolland hardly needs an introduction, native Australian Kinsman is the former winemaker at Araujo Estate who also makes wine at Accendo Cellars, Bella Oaks, and Kinsman Eades, the label he runs with his wife. The acclaimed winemaker has been on board since founders Luke Evnin and Deann Wright first conceived the idea in 2019; his first job was to secure grapes from two historic Napa Valley locations for their single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings, Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard in Oakville and Beckstoffer Las Piedras at the foot of Spring Mountain, which was the first vineyard planted in St. Helena. Consultant Michel Rolland joined in 2023 to bring his magic blending touch to the project.
Annulus 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from select lots in Stags Leap District and Diamond Mountain plus heritage fruit from top sites throughout the valley. A touch of Petit Verdot adds a floral note to aromas of raspberry, Simka plum, pencil lead, and Mediterranean herbs. Polished tannins and full mouthfeel supply a gorgeous backdrop for flavors of black cherry, blackberry cobbler, and black olive tapenade with a soft note of cigar box that lingers on the expressive finish.
Arborum’s organic St. Helena Vineyard
Arborum
Arborum Napa Valley, founded by Caren and Nick Orum, offers a Proprietary Red blend from its historic, CCOF-certified organic St. Helena Vineyard and a white blend from Coombsville. Both are crafted by Andy Erickson, whose CV includes helming the tanks at Screaming Eagle, Dalle Valle, Harlan Estate, Ovid, Spottswoode, and his own acclaimed label, Favia. When the Orums acquired the 20-acre property in 2013, its grape vines and olive trees were in disrepair; a replanting of the vines and overhaul of the olive orchard left the bulk of the property intentionally forested, offering a sheltered natural setting among 100-foot-tall conifers. The Orums are dedicating 100 percent of the net earnings from Arborum to local charities that support education, healthcare, social services, and the environment, with a commitment of $1 million from the 2024 releases. An estate Cabernet Sauvignon will be added in the next few years.
Arborum 2021 Napa Valley Proprietary Red is made with 95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 percent Cabernet Franc. After barrel fermentation, the wine was aged in oak for 28 months. A nose of ripe summer cherry, holiday baking spice, and wet river rock prepares the palate for raspberry, red plum, clove, and coffee bean flavors with a hint of Portobello mushroom. Plush tannins coat the palate and linger into a long-lived and slightly savory finish.
The first releases from Palisades Canyon in Calistoga, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and Chenin Blanc, are made by fourth-generation Napa winemaker, grape grower, and historian Graeme MacDonald, who also makes wine at his family’s storied To Kalon property in Oakville under the MacDonald label. Palisades Canyon owners Felicia Woytak and Steve Rasmussen searched for years before settling on this 796-acre property in Calistoga that contains their 17.5-acre CCOF-certified organic Palisades Vineyard. Vines are farmed using regenerative principles, and MacDonald prefers a minimal interventionalist style of winemaking, including a predilection towards native yeasts.
Palisades Canyon 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made with the addition of small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The vineyard’s volcanic soil adds a sense of minerality that is present in a whiff of smoke and saline that joins aromas of wild blackberries, black currants, and a touch of dried thyme. Flavors of black cherry, dark chocolate, marjoram, and a hint of pencil lead are sheathed in a cloak of opulent tannins that just keep going on the palate.
